It is known that portable electronic apparatuses, such as smartphones, PDAs, etc., are today used for a wide range of applications, such as, for example, reproduction of texts, photos, and videos, and remote connectivity via videoconference, which require presentation of large amounts of data and images on the corresponding display.
The display is, however, generally of small dimensions, given the portable nature of these apparatuses, so that displaying these data and images is not always practical for the user.
Recently, use has been proposed of image projectors inside portable electronic apparatuses (both as separate accessories and as modules integrated in the portable apparatuses) capable of projecting at a distance on any displaying surface (for example, the wall of a room) images of large dimensions corresponding to the contents showed on the display.
The use of projectors advantageously enables both a considerable increase in the surface available for display of information and sharing of the information with a number of people by the user of the portable apparatus, for example, for performing a presentation.
Pico-projectors generally include a light source, for example, of a laser type, which, appropriately driven as a function of the image to be projected, directs a light beam on a mirror mechanism, which is in turn driven so as to direct the light beam on the displaying surface, according to a scanning scheme of the raster type, in a way similar to the techniques traditionally used in the television field. In particular, the image is generated and projected pixel by pixel on the display.
In order to reduce the dimensions of pico-projectors, both the mirror mechanism and the electronic control and driving circuitry may be made, in an integrated manner, with the semiconductor technology. In particular, the mirror mechanism may be manufactured with MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical System) technology.
Albeit advantageous for the reason set forth above, today the use of pico-projectors in combination with portable electronic apparatuses suffers from an important limitation, linked to the poor stability of the images that are projected on the displaying surface on account of inevitable undesirable movements of the portable apparatuses, due in general to vibrations coming from the external environment, for example, to trembling of the hand of the user handling them or to vibrations of a surface on which the same portable apparatuses are resting (for example, a table in a moving train).
There is a need in the art to solve this problem, thus improving the experience of use of pico-projectors, in particular in the case of portable apparatuses.